Who needs Biotics when you have Telekinesis?
by Waki Paki
Summary: Calabrese Profeta died. In a blank white room somewhere before death, An exposition fairy offers him a second chance at his life and a chance to save another universe, one that he is quite familiar with.
1. Chapter 1

Calabrese woke up in a white room. He blinked, wondering what he did this time that he wound up in a mental hospital. Then he realized that he wasn't wearing a straight jacket.

"Well, this is a change of pace," he mused. He grabbed his head as he suddenly deceloped a massive headache.

Calabrese remembered what happened, now. "Oh, yeah... I died."

He was out at the bar for his 21st birthday. Alone. He wanted to drink his sorrows away, but couldn't have more than a single gulp of the awful alcohol. He spent the rest of the night nursing a cup of water on the bar, watching people come and go. One such person included a young lady, too young to drink here. She was the bartender's daughter, apparently. From where Calabrese was sitting, he could see her tidying up dishes in the back. She finished up and came trounced over to the bartender.

"Hey Dad, dishes are done. Need anything else tonight?" She asked in a chipper tone.

The older man laughed, his belly shaking slightly. "No, sweetie. You can go home."

She hugged him and then left through the back door. What she didn't know was that a group of four men with sunken eyes and dirty smiles followed behind her.

What they didn't know was that Calabrese followed behind them.

She'd gotten about two blocks before the guys caught up with her, one quickly stepping in front of her. "Hey there girlie. Want to come hang out with us?" He asked with a leer.

She was having none of that. She pushed past him without saying a word, but another one grabbed her arm none too gently.

"Now aren't you rude," he said as he pulled her into a side alley. "We was just asking a simple question. Why be so mean?"

Calabrese, from a discreet distance, dialed the police. He got a dial tone. "We're sorry, but the lines are currently full. Please hold." He swore softly and tucked his phone back in his pocket, watching, thinking.

She was pushed further into the alley, the four men blocking her escape. She glared. "I'm not interested. Get out of the way."

One of them, clearly the head honcho, grinned down at her, his yellow teeth gnarled and twisted. "Oh, but we are interested. And for being such a rude little girl, we won't go easy on you."

She tried to punch him, be he caught her hand and spun her around, his other hand grabbing her ass. She squirmed and tried to elbow him, but she couldn't even scream she was so terrified. Watching this was the two in the back and another off to the side.

Calabrese quietly snuck up behind the two in the back, pulling a batman by knocking their heads together, putting them both to the ground. The echoing "thud" caught the attention of the two remaining men. The honcho leered at Calabrese, tossing the girl aside. "What do we got here? A little prick thinking to play hero, huh?"

Calabrese's heart thumped wildly in his chest, but he held firm. He didn't speak, just walked forward. The second man pulled out a knife and swung at him. Calabrese dodged the knife, but not the boot to his stomach shortly after. He heard laughter, and that pissed him off. He stood upright and prepared for the knife guy's next hit. He went in for a stab, but Calabrese grabbed his hand, pulling him forward and off balance. Then he grabbed the man by the back of the head and shoved it downwards as he brought up his knee. The man fell, broken nose bleeding and eyes closed. Calabrese grabbed the knife and turned to the honcho, who was applauding.

"Not bad, kid, not bad at all." His disgusting smile aimed squarely toward Calabrese. The man glanced at the girl, who was standing against the wall, eyes wide and scared. "But I'm done fucking around. Walk away, or this gets ugly."

Calabrese looked at the man, the girl, and the unconscious bodies behind him. "It can't get any uglier than your face, dickweed."

This startled the man (and the girl) enough that Calabrese rushed in, knife at the ready. But the older man was too quick. He punched Calabrese square in the forehead, knocking him back to the ground. In his dazed state, it was the best he could do to turn to the girl and say "Run!"

The girl snapped out of it and took off out the alley way. The Honcho tried to run after her, but tripped as Calabrese grabbed his foot. He kicked Calabrese in the head, hatred in his eyes, his lust for the girl gone. Now, he only wanted to kill this little shit. He stood over Calabrese, kicking him in the back and the arms.

"I told you I was done fucking around," The man said as he pulled out a revolver from the back of his pants. He aimed at Calabrese, but at that point, he stabbed the knife into the achilles' tendon of the larger man, who fell to the ground. Calabrese jumped on top of the man struggling with the gun, trying to keep it pointed away. But he was shoved back and punched in the chest.

No, wait, it wasn't a punch. Calabrese looked down at his quickly bloodying shirt. The older man held a smoking gun and looked triumphant, but Calabrese screamed out in effort and plunged the knife into the man's throat. The man gasped, but could only breathe blood, and he died first. Calabrese rolled off him and lay down on his back, eyes to the stars. He had a few thoughts running through his head as he breathed slower and slower.

Only one dead. Who knows what the other three will do now. Maybe they'll get away and come back for that girl. I never even got her name. It wasn't... it wasn't good enough, Calabrese. If he could still lauch, he would have chuckled to himself. So young, too. Ah, well. You know what they say. Half as long... twice as bright.

He closed his eyes, a last smile etched on his lips.

Calabrese sat on the empty white floor, thinking over his last moments. He didn't have a family left, no friends that would care for more than a month, and his dog Sparkles would at least be taken care of by his neighbor. All in all, he didn't want to die, but he supposed he wouldn't be missed. He wasn't important enough.

He heard a noise behind him, and he pushed himself off the ground. Whatever comes next, he'd rather face it standing. He turned to find a glowing white light, about human length and width, standing in front of him. Calabrese looked at it and could feel the light on his skin.

"Hello there, Calabrese Profeta." The light spoke in a calm, almost approving voice.

The man in question was surprised by the tone. "Who are you, and where am I?"

The voice laughed. "We are nowhere, or maybe the afterlife. Whichever you want to call it. As to who I am... I'm your new best friend." It moved slowly towards him, circling around. "Because I intercepted your soul on it's way to the after afterlife, and I'm going to give you a choice."

"What makes you think I didn't want to go the afterlife?" He asked, but kept the aggression out of his question. He was smart enough to know that you shouldn't piss off god-like entities, especially if they claim to be doing you a favor.

"You didn't have much of a life for there to be an after," It responded, amused. "I'm willing to give you another shot at a better life, where you could at least live past 21. I'll place you in another universe, one that you're at least familiar with, and I'll give you a little something to go with it. In fact, if you don't show up there, everyone there is pretty much screwed. You get to be a big damn hero."

Calabrese heard what the voice said, but he couldn't understand. "But... why?"

"Why what?"

"Why me?" He asked. "I'm nobody. I've got no military training, I've got no great skills, no great brain, no great body, no great personality. If you were going to send someone to go save a universe, why not send somebody worth two squirts of piss?"

The light stepped in front of him. Calabrese could almost see a smile. "Why? Why not? I'm sure you'll do just fine. I'll send you in as an infant, an orphan. You'll have a better body by the time you've grown up. As well as some military training if you're not an idiot. And you're not; you've got a good head on your shoulders. A smart lad. As for your personality..."

A television appeared next to the light, showing a overhead view of Calabrese's fight in the alley. It was surreal, watching himself take down the different men, killing the last one, then dying. From this far angle, he could see the girl had ran back in the direction of the bar. He turned to the light. "That girl, did she... is she going to be okay?" Calabrese asked, concerned.

There was definitely a smile in the light. "Yes, she'll be just fine. Once she got back to the bar, they called the police and the men were arrested. They'll be away for life. I made sure of it."

He took a breath of relief. "Thank you."

"That's why I picked you, Calabrese." The light shone brighter. "You care for others. Even though you don't have a family, or had real friends, you still want to help others. Nothing could change that. That's why you're going to succeed."

Calabrese stood silently for a while. "Where will I be going, exactly?"

"You'll be dropped off in the Mass Effect universe."

His eyes snapped open wide, and a grin formed on his face. He'd played all the games, he'd loved them. A sci-fi universe like that? Hell yes. But... "Wait, you said the people there are screwed. How can they be screwed? Shepard wins the day!"

"This isn't just like the game, kid. This will be entirely real, and some rules that the game has won't apply."

Calabrese thought about that. It made sense. Another thought popped up. "I'm not into renegade, but I don't want to join the Alliance. I'm cool with them, but I don't really want to be a part of it. Do you see what I mean? I don't want to have to get in through that."

"That's fine. You can still get military training. Just ask Shepard for some lessons. You'll learn other things, too." The voice spoke brightly. "Which brings me to the final point, here..."

The television turned into a very large holographic board, full of words on them. Calabrese skimmed over a few. Super strength, flying, mind reading...? He turned to the light.

"This will be your edge, your signature ability," The light spoke informatively. "Pick any of these superpowers. You'll enter into the world with it. But choose wisely, you don't get a redo."

Calabrese browsed through the selections. There were some that didn't interest him at all, like xray vision or fire breathing. But a few had him conflicted. He made a short list of the ones he liked until he came across one that made him stop.

"I want this one." He spoke with absolute certainty.

"Are you sure?" The light asked.

"100% sure."

"Okay, then." The light closed down the hologram. The light shimmered for a moment, grew incredibly bright, and then dimmed. "I've got the power ready. Are you prepared for it?"

Calabrese thought back on his short life, his final battle, and thought of the future of Mass Effect. "I'm prepared."

The light walked towards him, enveloping him, and then sinking into him. Calabrese gasped, feeling the power flying through his body. He heard a small chuckle in his head.

"Yeah, it's quite the rush. Remember, you'll have to train it up from basically nothing when you get there." Calabrese just nodded, taking a deep breath. "Oh, and I'll be here with you, but I'll only show up if something really bad happens or if you have a question you can't get the answer to or something like that. Otherwise, don't pay me any mind."

A shimmering portal opened up in front of Calabrese. He knew what it meant. He took a deep breath, released it. I swear to you; everyone of the Mass Effect universe that I know, we will stop the reapers and save the world. I promise. He stepped into the portal.

The last thoughts echoing through his head this time were not his own. "Telekinesis. Not a bad choice at all. Let's see how far you can take it..."


	2. Chapter 2

ME TK CH2

Calabrese woke up staring at a ceiling, a blanket covering his body, and bars all around him. _Shit, am I in jail?_ _No, wait, baby crib._ He attempted to lift his head only to find that his neck did not have the strength to do so. _A baby... right. Gotta go through the whole no control of my bowels and crying my eyes out every day and night._ He really wanted to look around and get some kind of view of the place, though. That's when he remembered his new power. _Might as well try this out sooner rather than later._ Focusing on his head, he imagined lifting it up slightly. It took a lot of effort even with his tiny baby skull, but he managed to prop himself up slightly.

It was clear he was in an orphanage, judging by the adjacent cribs and simple room decorations. This wasn't the presidium of orphanages, either; the paint was peeling from the top of the walls, the cribs looked pretty beaten down, his blanket was a tanned white, and there were few lights on. Calabrese knew that he was likely in either an orphanage full of people who just run it for the money, or full of people who are desperately trying to make things work for the kids. He hoped it was the latter.

Still, he was well aware that in a lower-income seeming area, there would be a fair share of bullies, punks, gangs, and criminals that he would have to deal with. He needed to make sure he was ready to deal with them. And beyond here, too. A galaxy full of murderers, slavers, and cosmic horrors. _And I get to deal with all of them. Yay me._ That brought another group to mind, possibly the most dangerous one to him for the coming years.

Cerberus.

A child capable of beding spoons without biotics? It would be the Illusive Man's wet dream. He'd have to hide his ability as much as he could while also powering it up to be the most powerful it could be. Incorporating the two into one. It wouldn't be easy. _Not like I don't have time to think about how to accomplish all that._

He let his baby head drop back down on the soft mattress. He tried to lift his head normally again, still failing. Calabrese remembered something about how baby muscles take a while to develop and that early development could harm growth or something like that. He could still work on his other power, though. _Might as well start training now._ He tried to lift his baby arms this time, finding it slightly easier but still difficult. He would lift them slowly up and down with his telekinesis. He moved on to his legs as well, getting a feel for how they tingled and shook. After only a couple lifts on each limb, the boy felt incredibly tired. He decided to call it a day and fell back into blissful slumber.

He awoke the next morning to the sounds of voices, two women. They seemed to be making quiet chatter. He caught a glimpse of them as they passed by, tending to the other four children in the room. He saw one; a woman with short red hair and a simple white blouse and vest, pause as she stood over his crib.

"Agnes, who's this little cutie?" she asked while staring down at Calabrese with a smile.

The other woman came into view. She had long brown hair and wore a similar garb. "Why, he's our new arrival. We found him last night on the doorstep, poor thing. A simple note with his name pinned on his little blanket." She reached down and caressed his bald head. Calabrese couldn't help but giggle a burbly baby giggle. Both women smiled a little wider.

They both moved on to the other kids of the room, checking for dirty nappies and seeing who was hungry. Calabrese laid there, glad that it seemed he was in the good kind of orphanage.

*** (One Week Later)

Calabrese had settled into a routine. He'd practice his TK lifts whenever he had a spare moment. Between Agnes and the other woman whose name he discovered to be Angela, the kids were well taken care of. He noticed a few things about the women over this past week as well. Firstly, both were surprisingly young to be doing this kind of work. They were about 26 as far as he could tell. He also noted the bags under their eyes, evidence of long hours. He also heard other voices through the walls. Sometimes it was an older man, maybe some loud kids, a few assorted adults that he figured were other orphanage workers, and occasionally a pair of voices that sounded like parents looking to adopt. Personally, Calabrese wasn't looking to get adopted. It would be way too much effort and hassle to try and hide his powers from loving parents. Plus, he felt he didn't need them. He did fine on his own already.

Well, except for the whole getting killed thing, but he let that one slide.

He also took this time to come to grips with the fact that he was going to have to relive growing up from an infant and going through puberty, _again_. He felt very embarrassed when he had his first "accident" and had to be wiped clean by an adult woman. He was an adult, damn it! Maybe a fresh adult, but he liked to think he was mature for his age. He _was_ able to keep a handle on the crying, luckily.

Also; while he knew he couldn't "develop" his muscles quite yet, he could get a handle on his motor controls. He pacticed grabbing imaginary objects, spun his eyes around to get used to the feeling, straightened and flexed his arms and legs, touched fingers to thumbs. Calabrese didn't want to waste a moment, especially when he knew he had to be prepared. He'd push his little body until it collapsed.

His musing was interrupted when Angela came in for feeding time. She went around to the kids with a spoon and a jar of devil's flesh - sorry, "nutritional baby food". She approached the young Calabrese.

"Come on, Cally, here comes the airplane!" She smiled at him while wiggling the spoon around.

Calabrese wanted nothing more than to slap the stuff away, but he needed the calories and nutrients, so he reluctantly opened his mouth and swallowed the gunk. He swore that when he was an adult, he'd go find the manufacturer of that hellish food and kick the CEO in the testicles.

Unless it was a woman. Then he'd just give her a stern glare.

*** (6 Months Later)

Agnes and Angela were taking the kids out of their cribs more often, letting them sit down and play with toys. Most were just sitting around blowing bubbles with their own spit, making random "Ah!" and "Beh!" sounds as their developing brains tried to figure out how words worked, occasionally giggling at something and making the two caretakers smile. Soon afterwards, however, their attention was turned back to young Calabrese.

Calabrese had been crawling for about a month now, which was a month before any toddler was expected to be moving around on their own like this. Today, though, Angela was holding his hand as he tottered around trying to get used to walking. Calabrese knew all the essentials, but his damned baby legs were having trouble supporting him. He considered using TK to support himself, but he decided it would be better to get his body developing as needed. With each ponderous step, the toddler's grin grew wider.

Both women were quietly amazed by the boy's progress, but they were happy none the less. It did their hearts good to know that if this boy could learn so quickly, he'd have a good shot later in life at succeeding, maybe making something of himself.

A man poked his head in the door of the children's room. With just a dash of grey in his hair and a disheveled beard, the man stood at 5'9 with a smart suit and tie. This was Gerald, the owner of the orphanage.

"Hello everyone!" He greeted warmly before speaking to Agnes. "Agnes, I need you for a moment. Seems Billy knocked over one of the younger kids again and made him scrape his knee, you know how he is..."

Agnes merely sighed. She did know. "Alright, I'll go deal with him." She certainly hoped he would grow out of his behavior. "Angela, do you mind keeping an eye on everyone?"

Angela shook her head. "Not at all, I've got this covered." She pecked Agnes on the cheek, who then blushed furiously. "Go do your thing."

Once the two left the room, Angela let her smile drop a little. "Sorry Calabrese, I have to watch everyone now. I know you'll get it, though."

Calabrese looked up at her and smiled. He knew she thought he couldn't understand her, but he did and sympathized. He couldn't hog her attention with a room of toddlers, now could he? Agnela swiftly spun around as she spotted a young girl on the other side of the room, moving towards her. "No, Emily, you don't put that in your mouth!..." _Case in point_ , he thought to himself.

Calabrese crawled over to the wall, using it to support him as he continued practicing walking back and forth. He was sure he'd be able to get it down by the end of the week, intermixed with his usual motor skill practicing with the toys. He certainly was glad there was no surveillance in the room, and he'd checked extensively. The caretakers usually followed a routine, and between visits this allowed Calabrese to practice his TK, fine motor skills, and speaking. It was all a matter of repetition; honing his former skills until the body accepted the mind.

*** (Later that night)

It was getting late, but not too late that all the toddlers had fallen asleep. Calabrese was sitting upright and floating about two feet above the crib as he opened the lid of the toybox by the door and levitated them around. This was part of his training; learning to multitask and split his attention. On a battlefield, you couldn't get blindsided or you were dead. But he felt that he was having no trouble with his work today, it seemed a tad easy. He decided to lift the crib underneath him as well, which took quite a bit more effort. He was feeling the mental strain after a minute or so, so he gently set himself and the other toys back down.

He sat there, resting so he could go again. He let his mind wander back to his formor life...

*** (Flashback, Calabrese as a teenager in his old world)

Calabrese sat in the back of the classroom, idly doodling on a piece of paper. He was in english, and he hated english. Not that he had anything against the teacher, but it was just so boring. He knew the language already, damn it! He wasn't looking to become a book critic or a poet, what the hell was the freaking point of the class?

"..ese. Mr. Calabrese?" a voice spoke, breaking him out of his mental rant. Calabrese looked up to see the expectant face of Mr. Damien, his teacher, and several of his classmates.

"Er... yes sir?" He asked back.

"Is it an alliteration or a cacophony?" Mr. Damien asked patiently.

"Ummm..." Calabrese glanced down at his book, trying to remember where they were. "Alliteration?"

"Very good. As you can see with the rapid number of E's in this sentence..." Calabrese tuned him back out and continued his drawings.

It wasn't long until the final bell rang and our hero packed up his belongings and stepped out the back door. He lived close enough to the school that he often walked. Not that he had much choice since he didn't have a car. It was a nice day out, too; slight breeze in the autumn air with leaves falling onto the sidewalk that crunched underneath his sneakers.

Stepping through the front door, Calabrese was assaulted in his shins as his fatihful companion Scrabble greeted him. Scrabble was a black labrador that he got from his friend and neighbor Max, a black lab breeder. Scrabble nuzzled against Calabrese's hand as he knelt to pet him.

"Heya big guy," Calabrese said as he ruffled his dog. Scrabble panted and barked happily before bounding back to his dog bed and lying down. Calabrese remembered to grab his mail and set about sorting through them. The usual bills marking the beginning of the month were the only ones there. Calabrese groaned a bit. He had the day off from his job at Gamestop, but he still felt a bit concerned over his financial status. The house mortgage, electricity, gas, and air conditioning were all just part of his routine now, but it wasn't easy juggling working to have enough money and having enough free time that he didn't chew the walls apart. He set them down and went to the fridge, grabbing a juice box and reading his note on the fridge, reminding himself he had a meeting with his parole officer of sorts.

The parole officer of sorts was his solution to not be shunted into foster care. Calabrese was sixteen when his mother passed, and he had no intention of getting shuffled along into foster care for a mere two years before being sent back into the world. To that end, he spoke with a judge and proved that he was a working man with knowledge of how to take care of himself. After much debate, the judge agreed to let him continue living in his so long as he kept up with a youth officer and informed them of how he was doing. Calabrese was happy to take the deal.

As the years passed, what few friends he had in high school stopped answering the phone and Calabrese was left to his own devices; working long hours trying to save money for college, going for bike rides into town, sleeping away the hours, and playing his Xbox 360 with a large library of games thanks to his employee discount at Gamestop.

It was through this that he was introduced to Mass Effect, a scifi action adventure series that filled him with equal parts glee and rage. One due to the amazing universe, loveable characters, and great combat. The other due to his refusal to play anything other than insane difficulty even on his first playthrough. Yes, it was a bright time for him.

*** (Back to the orphanage and 6 month old Calabrese)

Calabrese's infantile body shook slightly as his eyes filled with tears. He mourned for his loss of the life he left behind. He was in a universe that was filled with very evil people that weren't just pictures on a screen. They were _real._ Calabrese felt the weight of his new existence settle on his soul, and he cried until his body gave out in exhaustion.


	3. Chapter 3

ME TK CH 3

Chapter 3

Calabrese was one year old today. He didn't know how the orphanage knew his birthday. Maybe it was the day he was dropped off. It would make sense. Regardless, he spent the morning getting fauned over by Agnes and Angela. He smiled and said "Dank you Annes and Anla." Calabrese could have spoken much more clearly, but he figured that was just weird them out way too much. Better to seem a prodigy than an oddity.

The two looked shocked for just a moment before grinning wide and squishing his little cheeks. Babies weren't supposed to talk until they were two, but that just proved to them that young Calabrese really was special (in their minds). "You're welcome," Agnes replied and moved on to the other kids with Angela, turning on the holo-tv with a children's show playing.

Though he was content for now, Calabrese had to figure out how he was going to progress forward in his coming years. He'd have to earn some money as switly as he could, get an omni-tool, learn combat skills... And he wasn't sure where he was in the timeline, either. If he was old enough before Eden Prime hit, maybe he could join in there. If not, he'd have to establish himself to be noticed by Cerberus for the suicide mission without also becoming a target. Guess that means I'll have to become a legendary mercenary of some sort like Zaeed, Calabrese mused.

*** (Two Years Later)

In terms of physical development, that wasn't a problem. Even before being allowed outside, Calabrese had been stretching and doing workouts to condition his young body. He was faster and stronger than all the kids his age (though that wasn't saying much) and was confident that once he got just a bit older, he'd be able to do some real strenuous practice. He wasn't shirking on his telekinesis training, either. If he put real effort in, he could probably knock out one of the walls of the orphanage.

Speaking of the orphanage, Calabrese had been given permission when he was one to walk around the place with some supervision. It was larger than he expected, but that may have been because he was so small. There was a room for the infants to two year olds, three year olds to six, seven to twelve, and teens; each room getting larger to compensate for the size of the occupants. He learned that there were about twenty or so kids right now, and that they didn't get ones in as often as he'd thought. Besides Agnes and Angela, there were four other caretakers that helped out their "batch" of kids. The caretakers were assigned to about a third of the kids until they were all gone and then went back to the infants and did it all over again. The man who ran the place was the one he'd seen as a baby, an older man by the name of James. He had been running it for about a decade since the previous owner died. He was kind and honest, a real grandfather type, which made him a rarity in this surrounding area.

Yes, as Calabrese had stepped outside for the first time, he had discovered that the area in which he lived was not a pleasant one. It was fairly metropolitan and slummy, but not completely crap, though there were beggars, drunks, and punks on every other corner, not to mention the gangs. They were small time; not openly warring in the streets, but a skirmish or shootout was not uncommon to hear of. One gang was made up of mostly batarians, one of biotics, and another that had mostly humans.

Calabrese contemplated all this and more as he sat in the grass of the orphanage's yard. Agnes and Angela stood across the way, talking in low tones about something. Calabrese couldn't get closer without being spotted and couldn't hear them from that far away, so he used his Telekinesis to read their lips.

He discovered a year back or so that by stretching out with his TK, he could feel everything around him, like a sixth sense. In Naruto terms, it was like the Byakugan; allowing him to observe all his surroundings. Unfortunately, his range wasn't nearly as large. Calabrese hoped that he could improve it with practice, maybe let him see things kilometers away, though it was a pipe dream.

"...et cuts means that we can't hire anyone," Agnes was saying.

Angela sighed. "Feels like it's the same every year. I know James is doing his best, but still..."

"I know, Angie." Agnes leaned against Angela's shoulder. "Best we can do is look after these kids and hope they get adopted, or at least are prepared for the world ahead."

Calabrese "watched" them, sympathy on his face. He wasn't the only one hurting financially, it seemed. It was good to see they were getting closer as well; Calabrese knew they had a thing for each other but had been tiptoeing around it for years.

Suddenly, an idea struck him with such force he fell flat on his butt. The two ladies looked over to him, but he just smiled and waved.

It might take years to come to fruition, and he still had details to work out, but he was going to be very wealthy if he pulled it off.

*** (Two years later, Calabrese Age 5)

"Hey Calabrese, why're you hitting your head against the desk?" The drell boy sitting next to him asked.

Because I know all this crap, and I'm going to have to do it all over again while being talked down to like a child. I'm and adult, damn it!

"Because I like to see the pretty stars, Sukem," Calabrese responded without looking up.

Yup, first day of kindergarten. Seems much hasn't changed in the past two hundred years. Still boring as shite, still full of squealing kids barely out of their diapers, and condescending teachers. It was a pasty white and crayon-splattered nightmare of delicacy and gentleness where everyone was made of glass and the slightest provocation might cause them to break out into tears. He wanted no part of it. He had even gone to Agnes and Angela and explained that he didn't want to go, that they already knew he was smart, but they just insisted it was a good opportunity to make friends.

Calabrese ignored the ramblings of the overly kind teacher's introduction and focused more on his telekinesis. You see, TK was a force. People usually think of it just as lifting things up, but Calabrese had realized the full potential of it. It was a force for you to control. You could hone it to a razor sharp edge and cut with it, you could compress it into a wall and make a shield, rub dust particles in the air together with great friction to spark a flame, create a pocket of air that you could hold and bring with you into, say, underwater. Sure you could also lift up heavy things, but that's thinking small. If you took a quarter and launched it with enough force, it would act like a sniper round; piercing through flesh and armor. With TK, you could do that. Except there aren't quarters in circulation anymore since credits became the regular currency, Calabrese thought to himself. He would have to find something else for that.

His sixth sense training was another such example of its' versatility. True, he couldn't read things from across the room unless they were in bulged out letters, but he could still sense everyone around him and what they were carrying, like weapons and bags. Even (much to his embarrassment one experimental evening,) telling what clothes people have on and what they look like without them on. He could spot anyone who was cloaked, hiding behind something, or whatever.

But simply being able to see them didn't mean he could stop them without liberal uses of his powers. Calabrese wanted to make his TK as strong as possible, but didn't want to rely on it simply because he didn't want the attention and suspicion. Plus, if anyone found a way around his TK, then he would be hosed if that's all he had.

Hence his physical training. Every morning, Calbrese would run laps around the outside of the orphanage, working his endurance and cardio. For his physical workouts, he had a different strategy. Knowing that muscles grew stronger by stretching them to the breaking point and letting them heal, Calabrese decided to use his TK for that as well. When he first tried it, he had to be very careful so he didn't snap his muscles and cause him permanent harm, but by reaching out with his TK into his own body and muscles, he could pull his muscles to stretch them out. This meant the even by lying on the grass outside, twitching all the while, he could be getting a full body workout without moving from his spot. This training regiment ensured he would be in peak physical condition, that all his muscles would be strong, not the wrong ones or only some of them. He hid his rather striking form under baggy, long clothes, and hoped no one would notice.

"Psst!" Sukem's voice broke Calabrese out of his reverie. "It's your turn to introduce yourself!"

Calabrese blinked and looked around, seeing the expectant faces around him. The sight nearly knocked the wind out of him, reminding him of a time long ago. He took a breath, calming. "My name is Calabrese Profeta, and I like reading and ice cream and my friends." That should be generic enough, he thought.

The teacher merely nodded, smiling, and moved on to the next person. Calabrese pretended to listen while thinking.

*** (Later that day)

Calabrese and a few other of his classmates stepped off the bus and headed back to the orphanage. Agnes and Angela were waiting outside, beaming. The kids ran up to them as they asked about their first day of school, shouting and jumping. Sukem and Emily merely followed behind Calabrese as he walked to the yard and sat down with a book.

"That was so much fun!" Emily squealed. "I hope every day is like that. We got to take a nap, and eat yummy foods, and color, and-"

"Yes, yes, I was there," Calabrese interrupted.

Sukem looked slightly annoyed. "Aww but Calabrese, didn't you like it? School is going to be a great time for us!"

Calabrese merely chuckled and shook his head. These guys were his friends; his only two friends in the orphanage. They were his age, 5, both in the same dorms as him. He of couse knew them before they knew him, he having observed all the kids at the orphanage and learning who they were before the rest of them could barely form a word. Emily was human; a blond haired girl with a passion for squealing and pouting. She was the first one to suggest something when they played together and liked being the princess. A pretty standard little girl. Sukem was a drell, usually reserved and on the quieter side like Calabrese, but Sukem didn't spend his quiet time contemplating the potential ramifications of super powers, Sukem just didn't want to be picked on for being one of the alien species at the orphanage. It was about 70% humans, so some of the kids liked to make fun for that reason. Still, these two were nice to Calabrese and he really did want to have some friends, if only to make his time here a little brighter.

"Well enough worrying about school. You guys want to play?" Calabrese asked. He didn't much care for "playing", but his friends did.

Emily jumped up and down. "Ooh, Yes! I want to play space pirates again!"

"Then I want to be the pirate," Calabrese said. "You can be the princess I kidnapped. Sukem, you can be the hero." Sukem nodded shyly and smiled.

Agnes and Angela watched them from afar, both quietly proud and relieved that Calabrese had found some good friends to be with. He always seemed one step ahead of the curve and more mature than the other kids his age, and they worried he might not be able to connect with the other children. Seeing this eased their worries.

As Calabrese pretended to threaten and taunt Emily, he tried to put his mind in order. He really needed to get his hands on an omni-tool and start working on his projects. He had a lot to do and really wanted to get started.


End file.
